With Netflix’s recent emphasis on creating their own movies to fill up their vast digital library, there has been less importance placed on older, licensed films from other studios. But March’s slate of new Netflix movies is a potent mixture of Netflix original films and titles from elsewhere, making for a rich bouquet of springtime entertainment. We heard you.
Below are the very best new movies on Netflix this month – from horrifying nightmares to ace fighter pilots to “My Best Friend’s Wedding”(And everything in between).
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
Two “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies are making their debut on Netflix this month – both Wes Craven’s 1984 original and a widely derided 2010 remake starring Rooney Mara and Jackie Earle Haley. We recommend you stick to the original that introduced Freddy Krueger, a child predator with razor-fingered teeth who returns to the streets in his dreams to exact revenge. While Freddy wouldn’t become a full-on pop culture icon until the third film (that’s when he started spewing catchphrases and showing up on lunchboxes), he certainly made an impression. He’s the scariest in the original, which was based around a real-life phenomenon wherein people were dying in their sleep. (Seek out Rodney Ascher’s amazing documentary “The Nightmare”This article has more details. Craven’s movie maintains a keen mixture of philosophical depth and theme park thrills, and the game cast of young actors (including a baby-faced Johnny Depp) really sell the supernatural terror.
Dunkirk
Arguably Christopher Nolan’s very best movie, his take on the famous Dunkirk evacuation during World War II, wherein Belgian, English and French soldiers fled a German bottleneck following the Battle of France. The miracle of the Operation Dynamo (codenamed Dynamo), was the fact that it used a fleet civilian ships to transport soldiers from the shore. (You may be familiar with the extremely long tracking. “Dunkirk shot” from Joe Wright’s “Atonement.”) Of course, this being a Christopher Nolan film, there’s all sorts of timey-wimey business – in this case, the evacuation is told over three geographical points (land, sea, and air), with separate amounts of time for each of those points. (The fascinating ways they intersect and diverge) This is a riveting and well-staged wartime drama that features a stellar cast including Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance, as well as Nolan regulars Cillian Murphy (as a single fighter pilot providing cover for boats).
Starship Troopers
Based on Robert Heinlein’s 1959 novel of the same name, “Starship Troopers”As a reunion between them “RoboCop”Paul Verhoeven is the director and Ed Neumeier is the screenwriter. As in the previous film. “Starship Troopers”The film mixes social commentary with large-scale action. This is the story of a new group of recruits led by Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), as they leave Earth to fight intergalactic wars against an alien race of marauding bugs. At the time of the film’s release, it was criticized for being fascist and jingoistic. But this was the point; the entire movie is a send up of rah-rah war films, even featuring warmongering interstitials, the kind of thing you’d see in the theater during World War II. (Yes, the actors are intentionally wooden. Since its release, it has seen many changes. “Starship Troopers”This movie has become more relatable and prescient as layers of meaning and detail are revealed after repeated viewings. Phil Tippett, the legendary monster man, is responsible for the visual effects. They also hold up very well. Bloody, brilliant and bloody brilliant.
The Adam Project
If you loved Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy’s last project together, 2021’s “Free Guy,” especially its mixture of high concept action-comedy tropes with genuine heart, then you’ll probably love their follow-up, “The Adam Project.”Based on a script that has been circulated around Hollywood. Years (at one point it was going to star Tom Cruise), Reynolds plays a time traveler who zaps himself back to the past, where he’s forced to interact with his younger self (a remarkable Walker Scobell) in an effort to save the world. The soundtrack is full of 70s music and focuses on the coolness of giant winged spaceships. ‘The Adam Project” might remind you of James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, with Reynolds’ patented whip-fire line delivery and a surprising amount of emotional payoff. This movie is fun for all the family. This is how many movies are described. But this movie is actually very entertaining.
Windfall
Who’s in the mood for a nasty little neo noir? That sounds great, right? “Windfall”Jason Segel stars as a burglar who robs the home of a wealthy couple (Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins). The plot gets tangled up when the couple turns up in the middle, which further complicates matters. Andrew Kevin Walker co-wrote the screenplay.“Seven”) and direction by Charlie McDowell (“The One I Love”( “Hitchcockian”The thriller is one of the best movies to watch this month.
Top Gun
With “Top Gun: Maverick”The future is finally here, so why not take a look back at the original? Tony Scott directed the film with a high-fashion style. “Top Gun”The movie that made Tom Cruise famous, from a promising young star to a worldwide superstar. Cruise plays the role of one of the new fighter jet recruits, who receive more than they bargained while training for combat. Everything about the movie is perfect and in lockstep with the melodramatic emotional pitch (RIP Goose), Cruise’s forbidden romance with a professor (Kelly McGillis), the most ridiculously homoerotic volleyball sequence ever committed to film, Jeffrey Kimball’s smoky photography and Harold Faltermeyer’s twinkly synth score. Everything was perfect from the moment it was released. “Top Gun”It became a symbol of the movie’s success. You can’t think of the movie without thinking about his aviator sunglasses, the soundtrack full of unforgettable hits (“Take My Breath Away”And “Danger Zone” anyone?Cruise and Val Kilmer. The new movie can’t come soon enough. You can still enjoy the original movie by watching it a few more time.
My Best Friend’s Wedding
It’s interesting to think of a time when Julia Roberts wasn’t the biggest female movie star in the world. But that’s where she found herself before “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” Her career had taken a hit thanks to a few very expensive misfires and America’s sweetheart needed a smash. Enter “My Best Friend’s Wedding,”This feels almost designed to impress the actress and maximize box office impact. Roberts portrays a woman who feels for her best friend (Dermot Mulloney). She is about to get married to the bubbly, charismatic Cameron Diaz. Ron Bass, who collaborated with Roberts in the 1991 thriller The Unsung Hero, is responsible for this screenplay. “Sleeping with the Enemy”) and just enough curveballs to keep things interesting, mostly thanks to the lively direction of Australian filmmaker P.J. Hogan (“Muriel’s Wedding”(), and the supporting role by Rupert Everett, who was then largely unknown. Considering romantic comedies have been largely relegated to cheaply produced cuties that premiere exclusively on various streaming platforms, it’s fun to remember when they were actually handsomely produced studio fare that made big money too.
